This practical guide from Project Cal-Well summarizes key considerations and includes recommendations for schools and districts implementing social, emotional, and behavioral screening during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Two partnering Project Cal-Well districts share examples of how they have gathered data to identify the behavioral and mental health support needs of their students.
Resilience and Trauma-Informed Practices
Overview of Promoting Student Resilience (PSR) Grant Program
In 2016, the U.S. Department of Education awarded $4.75 million in Promoting Student Resilience (PSR) grants to three local educational agencies (LEAs): Baltimore City Schools; Chicago Public Schools; and St. Louis Public Schools. The communities in these three LEAs had experienced recent significant civil unrest (i.e., demonstrations of mass protest that involved law enforcement).
The funds supported LEAs’ efforts to build capacity to address the comprehensive behavioral and mental health needs of their students by supporting systems-wide approaches that link schools, mental health service providers, and community-based organizations.
This resource provides a brief overview of the grantees, their activities, support provided, and lessons learned.
Supporting Students’ Social and Emotional Connectedness During Remote Learning
This practical guide from Project Cal-Well focuses on flexible and feasible approaches to supporting social and emotional connectedness during remote learning. It provides information and resources about easy to implement strategies for educators, students, and families to stay connected and foster a sense of community within a virtual classroom. The guide includes strategies for educators to:
- Promote students’ feelings of being welcomed as part of a community
- Foster peer-to-peer connections and relationships through classroom activities and independent assignments
- Regularly check in with students about their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing
- Demonstrate flexibility, understanding, and willingness to communicate with students and their families
Resource Guide: Responding to COVID-19 Challenges
California Safe and Supportive Schools Resource Guides highlight the latest topic-specific research, policies, and practices concerning school climate, student engagement, and well-being, derived from recent editions of the California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter.
This issue focuses on supporting learning, well-being, and mental health of school communities during COVID-19. It includes tools, strategies, and guides for reopening schools and providing online services during this unprecedent time, as well as links to reputable websites of organizations that have developed curated lists of COVID-19 resources.
Subscribe to the California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter to receive future Resource Guides and other information on the latest research, resources, policies, and practices related to school climate, safety, and wellbeing.
To Create Safe and Healthy Schools During a Pandemic, Prioritize Educator Wellbeing
Educator wellbeing provides the foundation for the overall wellness of educators, students, and the school community. In this brief, we describe how educator wellbeing is impacted by school climate and culture, educators’ own social and emotional competencies and self-care strategies, and individual histories of trauma and crisis. The brief focuses on a wide range of strategies for educators and school leaders to promote and support educator wellbeing, provides examples of successful implementation of educator wellbeing practices in California school districts, and includes resources to bolster supports for educators.
Proactive and Inclusive School Discipline Strategies
Innovative school leaders have shifted away from punitive school discipline approaches because they generally do not work to reduce the behavior for which they are applied and, more often, have unintended negative and counterproductive consequences. This What Works Brief describes a range of innovative approaches that promote self-discipline and reduce punitive discipline by:
- Explicitly teaching students expected behaviors
- Motivating students to commit to school rules by noticing and encouraging students who follow them
- Addressing underlying conditions that provoke students to break school rules by providing opportunities for feedback and pro-social skill building
Developed through the California Safe and Supportive Schools (S3) Grant, What Works Briefs summarize state-of-the-art practices, strategies, and programs for improving school climate. Based on the most current research, each brief provides practical recommendations for school staff, parents, and community members. They are organized into three sections:
- Quick Wins: What Teachers and Adults Can Do Right Now
- Universal Supports: Schoolwide Policies, Practices, and Programs
- Targeted Supports: Intensive Supports for At-Risk Youth
Subscribe to the California Safe and Supportive Schools Newsletter to receive updates on the latest research, resources, policies, and practices related to school climate, safety, and well-being.
